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The Stat Line of the Night – 3/15/10 – Aaron Brooks

Going into this season, no one would have guessed that Aaron Brooks would emerge as the star of the Houston Rockets. In fact, no one would have thought any star at all was going to emerge in Houston. Even with the acquisition of Kevin Martin at the trade deadline, Brooks has shined brightly for the Rockets. Last night he showed he could be more than just a star, he came through with some late-game heroics to defeat the Denver Nuggets.

Brooks didn’t just hit the game-winning shot with 2 seconds remaining, his stellar play throughout the game helped his team dominate. On a night when Carmelo Anthony dropped 45 points on 35 shots, Brooks was far more efficient. He also had a little help from his new teammate Kevin Martin, who added 29 points. Surrounded by those good performances, Brooks put on a show of his own. He hit 11-17 and had 31 points, none bigger than his 19-footer to win it with just 2 seconds on the clock.

As of right now, Houston is on the outside of the Western Conference playoff race, 5 games behind Portland for the 8th seed. It seems unlikely they can catch the Blazers with 17 games to play, but crazier things have happened. The Rockets are a true team with no real superstar, but if Brooks keeps putting on “Stat Line of the Night” performances, they might be able to make an exciting run for the 8 seed.